News Post: And I Love Margaret Just a Little Bit More, Again

-


'Along with her identity as an Asian-America, Cho has struggled with her identity as a woman, particularly her personal struggles with eating disorders. As a young woman growing up in her family, Cho was susceptible to sexist messages that told her she had to be “small, petite, and skinny” to be beautiful. As a result, Cho developed a devastating eating disorder, and went through dramatic periods of anorexia and bulimia. After being told to lose weight while working on her television show All-American Girl, Cho starved herself for several weeks, eventually becoming hospitalized for kidney failure.

'A breakthrough for Cho came when she saw burlesque being performed for the first time. “I was so amazed when I saw the performance. There were women with all different body types, ages, races, and you could tell they were so happy and comfortable with their bodies,” she said. “I was crying when I saw it, it really cured me.” For Cho, who performed burlesque on her tour “The Sensuous Woman,” burlesque was not about sexualizing herself as much as it was about emancipating her from the idea that her body is a prison. “We are so conditioned to a certain look that models have, and people think that's the only kind of body that can be beautiful and sexual, and that's not true, everybody has that ability.” Cho believed that performing burlesque allowed her to see that ability. '

Margaret Cho provokes laughter and thought

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Girls in Giant Champagne Glasses

-
Image
Today I received this question from a reader: "[I] was wondering if you might know where one could purchase an oversized champagne glass, like the one dita von tease or catherine d'lish uses????" Venus Delight in her Giant Champagne Glass circa 1989-1994. Photo Property of Venus Delight. Catherine D'Lish in her champagne glass at Tease-o-rama 2002. Photo Copyright Jo Weldon. Honestly, I probably can't afford a giant champagne glass, and if I could afford it, I probably couldn't afford to store or transport it, and even if I could, I couldn't afford stage hands to get it onto the tiny stages I usually occupy. It just so happens, however, that I do know how to purchase one. What I know is that you have to have one made, unless you can find one used, as they are not mass-produced. If you want to have one made, you first have to locate a prop maker or custom acrylic fabricator. The same prop makers who make props for movies, theater, and events a
Read more

Tami Roche

-
Image
Image courtesy of Skinnergy . When I was growing up in Atlanta, I saw the strip joint signs and old burlesque signs; I was also aware of Atlanta's burlesque star, Tami Roche. Because I started working the clubs in 1980, there were still some dancers who had done burlesque in the 50s and 60s around, some of them still dancing but most of them not interested in the full nude table dance format (and sometimes not so nice about us doing it), still working in the clubs as costumers or managers, wearing fabulous hair and nails and giving us great advice about showmanship and terrible advice about how to make money. I didn't get to meet Tami Roche but her name came up frequently as one of the last great tassel-twirlers. She appeared in Russ Meyer's Beneath the Valley of the Ultra Vixens with Kitten Natividad (one of the most lovable and darling people ever born) And she appeared in Ann Corio's revival of This Was Burlesque in 1981. Available on VHS as "Here It
Read more

How to Get Started as a Performer in Burlesque

-
Image
Above: Jo Weldon performing at The Burlesque Hall of Fame. Photo by Tigz Rice. Many students come to my classes with the intention to perform professionally. Not all who want to perform want to become fulltime performers, but they'd like to get onstage now and then. I work in the field of what I call "Independent Burlesque," where most performers are creating individual acts that then get booked into variety or burlesque shows. People also sometimes hear about a theme for a show and then create an act based on that theme, or start producing a show for which they then create acts. There are as many different approaches as there are people to come up with them. However, for this article, let's focus on what most of my students are asking me about, which is how to get booked as a solo performer in a burlesque show that already exists. I'll also be focusing mostly on how things work in New York. Traveling to work is a separate topic, but I'll have an article
Read more